Alex Dumas returning to CSBK aboard Economy Lube Ducati
Hamilton, ON – The 2024 Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship will feature an exciting new addition when it returns to action in Edmonton, as former champion Alex Dumas is slated to make his return to the series at RAD Torque Raceway, June 21-23.
Dumas will be joining forces with Economy Lube Ducati to headline a brand-new project beginning in round three, having completed a private test at Shannonville on Friday.
The 22-year-old became the youngest GP Bikes Pro Superbike champion ever when he captured the title in his rookie season in 2021, finishing as the national runner-up in each of the last two seasons to rival Ben Young.
Dumas elected not to participate in the full campaign as he prepared for the 101st Loudon Classic in New Hampshire, where he recently finished 13th, but his absence will not last more than two rounds as he now heads west to Edmonton.
The Quebec City native will now make his return official aboard a Ducati V4 Panigale, joining an Economy Lube stable that was previously headlined by Trevor Dion and has offered title support to riders such as Elliot Vieira, Mavrick Cyr, and Dylan Bauer.
A two-time MotoAmerica champion in the junior categories, Dumas has been historically successful since returning north of the border, winning 12 times and scoring 24 podiums in just 26 career Superbike races, crashing out of the lead in his only two podium absences.
His win rate (46.2%) trails only Jordan Szoke (50.6% with 78 wins in 154 races) for the best all-time in CSBK history, and his most recent victory in the 2023 finale moved him into a tie with Don Munroe for the fifth-most in the Superbike class.
Dumas’ return will play a pivotal role in the championship battle, where three-time champion and rival Young currently leads BMW-mate Sam Guerin by eleven points entering Edmonton, the third of six scheduled rounds.
More information can be found on the series’ official website at CSBK.ca.
Bonovo action is withdrawing from the WorldSBK at the end of the 2024 season
The German team’s four-year adventure in the Superbike World Championship will end at the end of the year.
In 2020, the Bonovo action Team, which was already active in Sidecar racing, joined forces with MGM Racing Performance and immediately achieved resounding success in the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM). Jonas Folger, who dominated every race of the season without exception and celebrated the IDM Superbike title early on in his return to active racing, caused much cheering among the team around Bonovo action Team Owner Jürgen Röder and Team Manager Michael Galinski.
The success story continued with a permanent entry into the Superbike World Championship and a new partnership with BMW Motorrad Motorsport in 2021. Although Folger had a difficult debut year in the WSBK, the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team continued to develop and started their second WorldSBK year with Eugene Laverty and Loris Baz in the highest class of production racing motorcycles. While Laverty ended his long and successful active career after the 2022 finale and took on a leading role in the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team, Baz continued his upward trend together with Bonovo action BMW Racing.
In 2023, Texan Garrett Gerloff started alongside the Frenchman. Both talents pushed themselves to surprising heights. While Gerloff secured a first pole position for the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team in Magny-Cours, France, and finished fourth in both races, Baz did his best race in Imola, Italy, where he finished ninth in the second race.
Scott Redding replaced Baz this year and experienced a rather difficult start to the 2024 campaign alongside Gerloff, although both riders had already achieved several top 10 results. After four of the 12 planned WorldSBK events this year, team owner Jürgen Röder decided after careful consideration that Bonovo action BMW Racing would end the Superbike World Championship adventure at the end of this year for personal reasons.
Jürgen Röder, Bonovo action BMW Racing Team Owner
“I will be leaving for personal reasons from 2025 and Bonovo action is therefore withdrawing as a factory team from BMW. I would like to personally thank all the fans who have stuck with us so loyally, who have been happy with us but also suffered with us. Thank you very much, because without the enthusiasm of the spectators and fans such a commitment would not be possible. You are carried by the euphoria and enthusiasm and I have enjoyed that in recent years, whether in the IDM or the World Championship. It was a nice feeling to delight other people with our riders and to provide entertainment and happy hours.”
“Then I would like to thank our entire team under our Team Manager Michael Galinski, who have always done an excellent job. We hope that we can make a difference this year too. We are doing everything we can to move forward and we hope that we can still show some signs of life from our side this season. My thanks also goes to BMW. BMW has always been a fair and very reliable partner who has supported us in everything, including this year, when we are getting the same material as our colleagues at SMR, so we are actually equipped accordingly. BMW and especially Marc Bongers deserve my most heartfelt thanks for their support over the years. He has been with us through the highs and lows and has motivated us during the lows and helped us looking forward. I think that cannot be valued highly enough. At the same time, I would like to thank our sponsors for their loyalty and strong support over the last few years.”
“I wish all the teams in the entire WorldSBK paddock all the best for the future, always an accident-free ride, that is the most important thing of all, and of course much success for everyone.”
Levi Badie won MotoAmerica Junior Cup Race Two Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. On board his Karns Performance Kawasaki Ninja 400, the Belgian rider was leading the restarted and postponed race when it was stopped by a red flag for a second time.
BARTCON Racing Matthew Chapin was scored in second place, a finish that allowed the 16-year-old to increase his lead in the Championship point standings.
BPM’s Isaac Woodworth got third and his career-first MotoAmerica podium finish.
The race was stopped on lap five of 10 due to a crash involving Marques Williams. Williams appeared to be knocked unconscious in an impact zone, but he eventually regained consciousness at the scene and walked away.
The original start of Junior Cup Race Two was stopped on the opening lap when three riders got tangled together and crashed in high-speed Turn Two.
Hayden Gillim won MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers Race Two Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Riding his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Road Glide, the defending Champion pulled away to win his second straight race by 6.5 seconds.
After getting his “pocket picked” at the end of Race One, as he said, Tyler O’Hara was happy to bring his S&S Indian Challenger home in second in Race Two.
James Rispoli bounced back from a crash on his Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide during Race One to finish third in Race Two.
O’Hara’s teammate Troy Herfoss, the Championship point leader coming into the race, was running second and making time on Gillim when he crashed in Turn 12. Herfoss was able to pick up his Indian, get back in the race, and salvage seventh.
Herfoss’ Championship rival Kyle Wyman dealt with an apparent mechanical problem on his factory Harley-Davidson from start and circulated slowly to an eventual eighth place.
Bobby Fong won MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike Race Two Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Fong led from start to finish on his Dunlop-shod Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha YZF-R1, leading by as much as 5.2 seconds and eventually winning by 3.8 seconds after 18 laps.
Fong’s two wins in Minnesota propelled him into the Championship point lead after nine of 20 races.
Josh Herrin was the runner-up on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R.
Cameron Petersen battled with Herrin over second for much of the race but faded due to a lack of grip and ended up taking third on his Attack Performance/Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1.
Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz was in the fight for the podium but had to run off the track to avoid Sean Dylan Kelly’s crash on lap five. But Baz was able to salvage fourth place.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch passed JD Beach late in the race to score fifth, matching his season-best finish. Beach took sixth, just 0.860 second behind Paasch on Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW.
Petersen’s teammate Jake Gagne, the three-time and defending Champion, once again struggled with arm pump but managed to take seventh.
Australian Superbike Champion Troy Herfoss, who is filling in for injured Cameron Beaubier, brought his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR home in eighth.
Ashton Yates got ninth on his Stock 1000-spec Jones Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, and Ezra Beaubier rounded out the top 10 finishers on his Aftercare/Scheibe Racing BMW.
Fong Sweeps To Doubleheader Domination At Brainerd International Raceway
Bobby Fong Sweeps The Weekend And Leads The Superbike Championship
Bobby Fong (50) got the jump on the field at the start of the Steel Commander Superbike race at Brainerd International Raceway on Sunday and was never headed. Cameron Petersen (45) and the rest of the pack give chase. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
BRAINERD, MN (June 16, 2024) – Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong barely won Saturday’s slugfest with Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin after a race-long battle. An hour or so after the race, Fong said he’d try to do things differently on Sunday. He’d said he would try and pull away at the front and not partake in any battles.
Turns out Fong was good to his word.
Fong did what he said he’d do and led from start to finish in Sunday’s Steel Commander Superbike race, leading every single lap and crossing the finish line with a margin of 3.8 seconds over Herrin, who was second for the second straight day.
And guess what? The name atop the Steel Commander Superbike Championship point standings belongs to one Bobby Fong. That’s right. Bobby Fong.
Fong leads three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne, who finished seventh on Sunday as he continues to be plagued by arm pump, by eight points after his two Brainerd wins. Fong has scored points in all nine Superbike races held thus far in 2024 and he’ll take that points lead to Ridge Motorsports Park in Washington for round five, June 28-30.
Herrin was solid again on Sunday, though he couldn’t keep pace with Fong. Instead, he hunted down Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen and passed the South African to finish second.
Petersen, who was fifth on Saturday, tried to hang on to Herrin, but ultimately settled for third place – for his fifth podium finish of the year.
Fourth place went to Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz. The Frenchman was in the battle for second with Herrin, Petersen and EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly when Kelly had a vicious highside that ended up forcing Baz off track and onto the grass. Although he tried to fight back, he couldn’t make headway into the gap to Petersen.
Fortunately, Baz was well clear of Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch and finished fourth with Paasch some six seconds behind in fifth. Baz and Paasch were third and sixth, respectively, on Saturday.
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s JD Beach improved from seventh on Saturday to finish sixth on Sunday.
Gagne, meanwhile, was a frustrated and lonely seventh with Australian Troy Herfoss eighth in his fill-in ride for the injured Cameron Beaubier on the Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR.
Jones Honda’s Ashton Yates and Aftercare Scheibe Racing’s Ezra Beaubier rounded out the top 10.
Fong leads Gagne in the series points, 138-130, with Herrin third on 119 points and just nine clear of Petersen’s 110. Baz sits fifth in the standings with 101 points.
Superbike Race 2
Bobby Fong (Yamaha)
Josh Herrin (Ducati)
Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
Loris Baz (Ducati)
Brandon Paasch (Suzuki)
JD Beach (BMW)
Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
Troy Herfoss (BMW)
Ashton Yates (Honda)
Ezra Beaubier (BMW)
Quotes
Bobby Fong – Winner
“It sounds good, but we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves,” Fong said when told he was leading the championship. “We’re only four rounds into this thing. We’ve got a lot of races left. Honestly, first thing is I want to wish my dad Happy Father’s Day. He doesn’t go to many rounds, but I want to wish him Happy Father’s Day. We’re on a good streak right now. We’re going to just play it safe and just maximize points each weekend. I would have never thought I would even be in this position last year or even leading up to the season. The goal is just to get on some podiums and see what we can do. But now we’re in this thing, and we’ve just got to be smart. We’re not going to get ahead of ourselves. Going into this race, we made some changes this morning and I told my data guy, ‘Nick, we need to smooth this bike out.’ On the warmup lap out there, I’m like, ‘I think we smoothed it out too much.’ We took a lot of torque away. At first when I had some grip, I’m like, ‘this thing is slow,’ but once the tire started going away it played in my favor for sure. You just kind of roll it around like a 600. It was slippery out there. So, what we did with the electronics definitely helped out there. Kudos to the team. Congrats to these guys. They’re keeping me honest. I always go good here, and the Ridge is a different story. We’re just going to keep going and try to keep this lead.”
Josh Herrin – Second Place
“No matter what, we’re always trying to win. We can’t leave here and be super happy with a second, but I’m content with it. After the way that the beginning of the season went, it’s good. We’ve been just trying to chip away. It’s been not going our way. The rain, for some reason I’m struggling with this year, so we lost a lot of points in the two rain races and lost a lot of points in race one at Atlanta. I’ve just had to try to claw my way back. It seems like now we’re getting there. I think we’re probably 18 points behind Bobby (Fong) now, and I don’t know how many behind (Jake) Gagne, or if we’re in second or not. I don’t think so. But I’m happy with the way that the championship is shaping up. I’ve been around here 19 years now and been lucky enough to win three championships and know that it’s not about the first half of the season. Things can go wrong the first half of the season. Just got to keep chipping away and never give up. My team is just full of that energy. We’ve got a good crew. Three years on the same team is a blessing for me. To be on the podium on Father’s Day, my kid’s not here right now but it’s just a good feeling. Thirty-four years old, I’m a dad and fighting for Superbike wins – not today but yesterday. I’m happy with this one and looking forward to the next couple rounds that we got coming up.”
Third Place – Cameron Petersen
“I’m position-wise quite a bit better, but in terms of race pace and the way I rode, I feel like I rode worse than I did yesterday. Obviously, yesterday just got caught up with those lappers in the last few laps. It was a tough race. I tried to go with Bob (Fong) in the beginning and his pace was pretty hot and I was just pretty sloppy, making a lot of mistakes, running wide, and really struggling with rear grip pretty much from lap one. But stoked to be on the podium. Good points haul. Just got to be consistent and be in this thing at the end. Seriously congrats to Bob this weekend. The guy was untouchable. Congrats to Josh (Herrin). I tried to keep him honest for the second half of the race there, but he just kind of slowly broke me and that was it.”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati:
Another Double Podium for Josh Herrin and The Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Team
Sunnyvale, Calif., June 16, 2024 — The fourth round of the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Championship at Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota proved another strong race meeting for the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati team with riders Josh Herrin and Loris Baz collecting podium finishes.
Josh Herrin showed his class by sealing second place in race one behind winner Bobby Fong, fending off teammate Baz by 0.2 seconds. This marks the first time in the 2024 season that Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R riders have shared the podium.
Race two saw Herrin fight past Cameron Petersen and move into second place, eventually stretching a 2.5-second gap and sealing another podium in second place. However, for Baz, he would be in the wrong place at the wrong time as, while battling for the podium, Sean Dylan Kelly had a big highside crash in front of Baz at turn three, causing him to run off the track and lose touch with the podium battle, eventually coming home in fourth place.
Regardless, the weekend was a success. It marked four races in a row in which either Baz or Herrin (or both) has been on the podium, indicating they have the speed and consistency needed to fight for the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Championship title.
2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship After Round Four
P1 – Bobby Fong 138
P2 – Jake Gagne 130
P3 – Josh Herrin (Ducati) 119
P4 – Cameron Petersen 110
P5 – Loris Baz (Ducati) 101
Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#2)
“It was a super positive weekend here at Brainerd,” Herrin said. “It was a great result to get two podiums. The team has been plugging away—the momentum is clearly with us now after this weekend and getting the win at Road America last time out. That’s three podiums in a row, which is a great boost to me and the team.”
“Now we head off to The Ridge in Washington. It was one of our best races last year, and then onto Laguna Seca, so we’ve got a couple of fun race weekends coming up. I’m really happy with how my Ducati Panigale V4 R is working right now and ready to keep the ball rolling.”
Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#76)
“Coming from a podium yesterday, the ambition was high,” Baz said after race two. “We always want to be in the front and take the next step. We tried a few things in the morning warm-up session, which didn’t work as planned, which led us to go back to yesterday’s set-up. I was also a bit more aggressive at the beginning of the race today.”
“I was on the limit a bit with the front-end when Josh (Herrin) came by, so I just took my time a little and tried to follow, but then Sean Dylan Kelly had a massive crash right in front of me. I’m glad he is OK, it was a big one, but I had to run off the track and I lost a lot of time. It took me over a lap to get back to my rhythm with my tires being dirty. I tried to be with Cameron Petersen, but in the end, I settled for fourth. It was a not-so-bad ending; we leave with some good points and another podium heading into The Ridge.”
The fifth round of the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship sees the series head to the Pacific Northwest at The Ridge in Washington over the June 28-30 weekend.
Skinner scores for Scotland with debut race win as Iddon makes it a ‘Super Seven’
Rory Skinner gave the Scottish home crowd something to celebrate by claiming his first Bennetts British Superbike Championship race win in race two at Knockhill, before Christian Iddon fought back with a victory in race three to become the seventh different race winner in 2024.
The weekend produced three different race winners from three different teams and manufacturers as the battle for the 204 title continues to intensify.
The wet conditions rolled in for Sunday’s raceday, but Skinner was unfazed and delivered his first win in the class for the Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad team, taking the chequered flag by 4.895s ahead of an intense battle for the top three with Iddon and race one winner Tommy Bridewell separated by just 0.014s at the chequered flag.
Skinner captured the lead from Bridewell at the Hairpin and then he continued to try to break his rivals but behind the reigning champion, Iddon and Kent were pushing for the podium.
Skinner had started to edge out and advantage but Kent was the fastest rider on circuit and he soon moved ahead of Bridewell as the pair became embroiled in the fight for third. The McAMS Racing Yamaha rider was then closing on Iddon, but he crashed at the Hairpin.
It gave Skinner the edge he needed over the final four laps, to take his first ever Bennetts British Superbike Championship race win, but behind Iddon had a shifting issue over the final laps which caused him to run wide at the Hairpin multiple times. Bridewell had closed on the run to the finish but the Oxford Products Racing Ducati rider held him off by just 0.014s.
Storm Stacey scored his best result with the Team LKQ Euro Car Parts Kawasaki in fourth place with Charlie Nesbitt and Fraser Rogers embroiled in a race-long battle, finishing in fifth and sixth respectively, taking their best results of the season so far.
In race three though, Iddon was ready to push for the first win of the season with Oxford Products Racing Ducati, and he was able to become the seventh different race winner in a red flagged final encounter.
Kent had initially grabbed the lead into turn one, but Skinner was on the attack and he moved ahead for the Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad team with a pass at turn three.
Iddon was holding third position on the opening lap but by lap two, he had moved into the lead with a decisive pass at the Hairpin on Skinner as Kent dropped to fifth.
Bridewell continued to show his pace as he was also moving up the order and he was into second place by lap four with his sight set on Iddon ahead of him.
The order at the front shuffled several times with Billy McConnell also in the mix for the C&L Fairburn Properties/Look Forward Racing Honda team, as the Australian climbed to third behind Iddon and Bridewell by lap six.
Iddon held the lead despite the pressure from the reigning champion and he would hold off the challenge until the race was red flagged when Leon Haslam had a heavy crash on lap 22. The ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team rider was left battered and bruised following the incident.
Skinner and Kent had been duelling for the final podium position; Kent took his opportunity at turn three on lap 20 and he was able to hold off the home hero to return to the podium for McAMS Racing Yamaha and make amends for his crash in today’s second race.
Skinner sealed a strong comeback weekend with a fourth place finish, his best weekend in his Bennetts BSB career, whilst McConnell scored the C&L Fairburn Properties/Look Forward Racing Honda team their best ever result in fifth place.
Hager PBM Ducati’s Glenn Irwin relinquished his lead in the standings to Bridewell ahead of the fifth round at Snetterton; he had fought his way through to eighth place in race two after starting from the back of the grid in 27th before ending the weekend with a ninth place.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Knockhill, Race 2 result:
Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad)
Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +4.895
Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) +4.909
Storm Stacey (LKQ Euro Car Parts Kawasaki +14.577
Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda) +15.436
Fraser Rogers (Tag Honda) +16.883
Billy McConnell (C&L Fairburn / Look Forward Racing) +17.883
Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) +22.655
Lee Jackson (MasterMac Honda) +23.931
Max Cook (Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki) +28.925
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Knockhill, Race 3 result:
Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati)
Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) +0.635s
Danny Kent (McAMS Racing Yamaha) +1.728s
Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad) +1 lap
Billy McConnell (C&L Fairburn Properties/Look Forward Racing Honda) +1 lap
Fraser Rogers (TAG Honda) +1 lap
Danny Buchan (DAO Racing Kawasaki) +1 lap
Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda) +1 lap
Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) +1 lap
Lee Jackson (MasterMac Honda) +1 lap
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:
Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) 141
Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) 130
Danny Kent (McAMS Racing Yamaha) 125
Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 118
Kyle Ryde (OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing) 110
Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team) 88
Jason O’Halloran (Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki) 81
Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda) 72
Ryan Vickers (OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing) 68
Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad) 65
For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Rory Skinner
(Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad)
“At the beginning I knew I needed to get to the front and we had been strong on the BMW in the wet and I thought I could control the pace and know what is fast around here in those conditions. I am very happy that I could get to the front and get a bit of a gap. I did make some mistakes at the start but I built the pace and got into a rhythm and not do anything silly.
“Over the last few laps I kept looking at my pit board and I kept thinking is this right, but I got into a flow state and I was really chilled out! I wasn’t too stressed which was nice as I usually put a lot of pressure on myself here.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but I had been strong in all conditions this weekend and it is nice to finally get one in the bag and now we want to keep the momentum going.”
Christian Iddon
(Oxford Products Racing Ducati)
“I felt absolutely brilliant on the bike at the start of the race as I had so much confidence and feeling in the wet. I was surprised that I was so keen to get by Rory as I know he had a great pace too. I got through and 30 laps here is super long so I tried to get a gap tenth by tenth.
“I tried to maintain the pace and as the track started to dry it became more difficult and I had a few moments. I was really worried as I knew I was losing time from my best lap time on my dash, but I knew from my pit board I still had a bit of a gap.
“I was trying to manage it and then the red flags came out and it caught me of guard but big credit to the team as we had an incredibly hard start to the weekend and we have all worked hard to come away with a second and a first today.”
Mathew Scholtz won MotoAmerica Supersport Race Two Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Riding his Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 on Dunlop spec tires, the South African took the lead on lap three and held it to the finish to win his second straight race and to close within two points of the Championship leader.
PJ Jacobsen is that point leader and the best he could do Sunday was a runner-up finish on his Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL Panigale V2.
Corey Alexander fought hard throughout the race and made a last-lap pass to secure third place on his Roller Die + Forming Ducati Panigale V2.
Tyler Scott bounced back from a big crash in Race One to take a hard-fought fourth place in Race Two on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750.
Scott’s teammate Teagg Hobbs led early in the race, but he got shuffled back to fifth at the end, just 0.366 second behind Alexander.
Scholtz Does The Double In Brainerd International Raceway Supersport
Mathew Scholtz And PJ Jacobsen Only Two Points Apart In Title Chase
Mathew Scholtz (11) leads PJ Jacobsen (15) and Teagg Hobbs (79) in Supersport action at Brainerd International Raceway on Sunday. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
BRAINERD, MN (June 16, 2024) – Rahal Ducati Moto’s PJ Jacobsen and Strack Racing’s Mathew Scholtz seem destined to battle every single race for the 2024 Supersport Championship, and that battle continued at Brainerd International Raceway on Sunday.
Scholtz won on Saturday with Jacobsen second and the South African won again on Sunday, again, with Jacobsen second. With his two victories here, Scholtz now has four wins on the season. The exact same number of wins as Jacobsen has in 2024.
With four rounds and eight races of the championship in the rear-view mirror, the pair are separated by just two measly points with Jacobsen on top, 171-169.
The top-two men in the MotoAmerica Supersport Championship were the top-two men on Saturday at BIR and they were the top-two men on Sunday, with the same result.
Jacobsen, who was racing in front of team owner Graham Rahal for the first time, managed to get to the back of Scholtz in the early laps before the South African gapped him slightly. With a handful of laps remaining, Jacobsen couldn’t do anything but settle for second, 4.4 seconds behind Scholtz at the finish line.
Behind those two was a great battle for third with the two Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzukis of Tyler Scott and Teagg Hobbs vs. Rahal Ducati Moto’s Corey Alexander. That battle went to the bitter end with Alexander making the pass on Scott on the last lap and beating him to the flag by just .023 of a second. It was Alexander’s comeback ride from the hip injury he suffered at Barber Motorsports Park four weeks ago.
Hobbs was right behind them, .343 of a second behind the duo, and fifth across the finish line.
“Yesterday we felt great,” Scholtz said. “Made a couple changes for the practice this morning. We went backwards, and then we went to yesterday’s settings for this race. It was just strange that I was only kind of stuck in the high 33s whereas yesterday I could do 33.3, 33.4 and didn’t feel like I was riding at the absolute limit. Today, if I tried to push more, I was running wide, missing the corners, tucking the front. So, I just have to go back and look at the data and figure out what I was doing differently. Definitely the first couple laps I thought that I would be gapping them, and PJ (Jacobsen) kept me honest. He definitely picked it up. I know that he’s coming. It’s good to see Corey (Alexander) up here, one of the two taller guys. So, that’s cool. Overall, happy to be taking the double. The team have been working really, really well, and just thank you to all the guys that have been supporting me. HJC, 4SR leathers, Alpinestars, the Strack Racing Company, everyone that makes this possible for me. Thank you.”
Jayson Uribe (360), Ashton Yates (27) and Benjamin Smith (78) battle to the finish line in the Stock 1000 race. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Stock 1000 – Uribe Gets His First
When Real Steel Motorsports’ Hayden Gillim crashed his Honda CBR1000RR-R SP on the second lap in Sunday’s Stock 1000 race, the door was open for the rest of the pack to make hay while the sun shone. Gillim had won his third Stock 1000 race of the season on Saturday and not many thought he could be beaten at BIR. But it all went wrong for the defending champion with his crash.
The rider who took the most advantage of Gillim’s miscue was OrangeCat Racing’s Jason Uribe, who won his first Stock 1000 race and his first of any kind in the MotoAmerica Championship.
Jones’ Honda’s Ashton Yates took over at the front after Gillim’s crash and managed to open a bit of a gap over the chasing pack. Uribe and FLO4LAW’ Racing’s Benjamin Smith, however, had their eyes wide open knowing that with Gillim out, this was anybody’s race.
The pair chipped away on and eventually caught up to Yates. On the final lap, Uribe snatched the lead in turn three, protected the inside for the rest of the lap and scored his first-career win in his return to the MotoAmerica paddock.
Yates held on for second, just .144 of a second behind Uribe and .368 ahead of Smith, who finished on the podium for a second-straight race. It was also Yates’ second podium finish of the weekend.
BPR Racing’s Bryce Prince was 1.6 seconds behind Smith and well clear of Team Brazil’s Danilo Lewis, who rounded out the top five.
Rocco Landers (97) beat Alessandro Di Mario (27) for the second straight day in the BellissiMoto Twins Cup race at BIR on Sunday. Rossi Moor (92) finished third. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
BellissiMoto Twins Cup – A Clean Sweep For Landers
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Rocco Landers played a little bump and run with his rival Alessandro Di Mario on the opening lap of the BellissiMoto Twins Cup race on Sunday, knocking Di Mario wide with the Italian-turned Kentuckian losing several places in the process. But he wasn’t done yet.
Rodio Racing – Powered By Robem Engineering’s Di Mario caught back up to Landers, breaking the Twins Cup lap record in the process. Di Mario latched on to make it a battle to the finish with the Di Mario/Landers duo going back and forth. Their battle at the front allowed Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Rossi Moor to get back in touch with the lead trio for the final laps with the 16-year-old latching on to the end.
At the flag it was Landers by .585 of a second with Di Mario just .324 of a second behind in third. The podium was identical to Saturday’s race, but the pace on Sunday was much faster.
Di Mario’s teammate Gus Rodio was some 15 seconds adrift in fourth, but well ahead of Giaccmoto Yamaha Racing’s Dominic Doyle.
“I kind of got it a little bit deep and if I had snatched the brakes I would have gone down,” Landers said of his contact with Di Mario. “I assumed he might see me and kind of get out of the way at that point, but the kid is a fighter. Made me work for that one way harder than any race this season so far. But it’s cool to race these guys. They’re always super-fast. Rossi and I kind of got to get our elbows out there a little bit, especially Rossi, though he’s a little bit down on power. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find some things for COTA. Got to give a huge shout out to my uncle Ken. He’s in the hospital right now. He was watching the race. My thoughts go out to him currently. But it was a good race for me. I had a lot of fun.”
Hayden Gillim (1) dominated the Mission King Of The Baggers race on Sunday, beating Tyler O’Hara (28) for a doubleheader sweep at BIR. Troy Herfoss (17) crashed and remounted to finish seventh. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Mission King Of The Baggers – Gillim Again
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines’ Hayden Gillim crashed out of the lead in Stock 1000 on Sunday in a race he was heavily favored to win. He didn’t let that happen in the second of two Mission King Of The Baggers races as he backed up Saturday’s win with another victory on Sunday and a points haul of 50 over the course of the weekend.
The race was one of attrition with the two men at the top of the points table also suffering miserable races and finishing last and second-to-last (seventh and eighth). Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman was the first to have an issue as his bike faltered at the start and Wyman basically was forced to cruise around for the duration to get some championship points. He earned eight points.
S&S/Indian Motorcycles’ Troy Herfoss was looking like he would bring home a boatload of points in comparison to his championship rival, but he crashed out of second place, remounted and finished seventh.
Herfoss’s teammate Tyler O’Hara cruised to a second-place finish, 6.5 seconds behind Gillim and some 10 seconds clear of third-placed James Rispoli on the second Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide.
Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson teammates Jake Lewis and Cory West rounded out the top-five finishers.
“I was a little nervous after crashing in the Stock race earlier,” Gillim said. “I didn’t want to repeat that. But, no, I was pushing as much as I felt comfortable. I knew if I could get into the corners pretty good and get out of them pretty good, it would be hard to pass. Everybody stepped it up from yesterday. If you could look at this morning, I was third and I wasn’t happy about it. I didn’t go any faster, but everybody else did. It’s an awesome weekend after Road America. Road America was a rough one. The whole start of the season has been really, really rough. Wearing the number-one plate I thought would be a little bit easier going into the season than what it has been. I’m just really happy for myself, for the team. Just looking forward to getting to Laguna on these. Last year we had really good pace there. Me and James (Rispoli) were rolling really good on the Vance & Hines bikes. Laguna is going to be a tight one. Everybody goes fast there, so it’s going to be a lot of fun. Just keep it on two wheels right now. I’m beat up right now a little bit – knees, elbows, everything. I’m just wanting to stay on two wheels right now.”
Levi Badie (71) bested Matthew Chapin (95) to win his first Junior Cup race of the season. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Junior Cup – Badie Gets It Done
The Junior Cup race was red flagged and moved to the end of the day after three riders crashed together in the ultra-fast turn one and moved to the end of the day. After a few hours of downtime, the race was restarted and ultimately red-flagged and called with Karns Performance’s Levi Badie taking the win, his first of the year and the third of his Junior Cup career. Badie was the fourth different winner in Junior Cup in 2024.
BARTCON Racing’s Matthew Chapin was second, half a second behind Badie with another half a second back to first-time podium finisher Isaac Woodworth and his BPM Kawasaki Ninja 400.
Bad Boy Racing’s siblings Avery and Ella Dreher were fourth and fifth, respectively, and on the same second as Badie.
“Started off pretty good,” Badie said. “It was a really big battle. I enjoyed the race a lot. Just trying to get my way up to the front. It’s hard sometimes. There were some few different limited passing spots, so it’s always like you want to do it fair. You don’t want to push people off the track and stuff. So, I pushed my way back to the front. When I got up front, I was like, ‘put the pin down and just try to go. See what every lap gives.’ You saw Isaac (Woodworth) pass me on the straightaway up to the last lap. Trying to just have a good battle and have fun. It’s sad to see that somebody crashed. It’s always sad. But I’m very happy. Thank you to everyone. I’m very grateful.”
More, from a press release issued by Rahal Ducati Moto:
BRAINERD RACE 2
SUNDAY, JUNE 16, 2024 | WARM UP & RACE 2
The overcast skies at Brainered International Raceway welcomed Race 2 of Supersport competition at the 13-turn course. It was another stellar race with the Rahal Ducati Moto riders showcasing their racecraft and skill collection another set of top-10 finishes.
The team heads west for Rounds 9 and 10 of championship competition, to Ridge Motorsports Park June 27 – 30. Keep up to speed with all things Rahal Ducati Moto by following along on our social media channels (@rahalducatimoto).
PJ JACOBSEN
No. 15 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 5th
FINISHED: 2nd
CHAMPIONSHIP: 1st (171 pts)
NOTES: Continues to lead the championship by two points leaving the weekend // Scored another podium finish, marking his eighth podium in as many races this season
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “It was quite a difficult race. I was trying to stay behind [Mathew] Scholtz the whole time, but there was a bit of a dropoff for me because I was trying to get the most of of the tire. Even standing the bike up, I couldn’t really get towards him because he was doing similar lap times. I knew today would be difficult, but we made some great changes overnight. Going forward to Ridge, I think I can be quite strong on our current bike. Our bike is great in the breaking zone, we just need to figure out the acceleration out of the corner in third and fourth gears, not sliding so much. Once you’re on the 600 and you start sliding off the corner, it can kill your lap time, more than a Superbike would where you can make it up. Scholtz rode great this weekend so I’m happy for him and his team. My teammate Corey, for him to be on the podium after his injury and Graham to be here between his INDYCAR races was awesome. The team should be proud, we did a great job. The championship could come down to the last couple of races.”
COREY ALEXANDER
No. 23 ROLLER DIE + FORMING DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 4th
FINISHED: 3rd
CHAMPIONSHIP: 6th (68 pts // +2 positions)
NOTES: Caught behind the Suzuki bikes of T. Hobbs and T. Scott for majority of the race // Made an impressive move on Scott for third place going into Turn 12 of the final lap, crossing the line just .023 ahead to secure the podium // Recorded his second podium finish of the season (first was Road Atlanta Race 2) // Earned two top-four finishes in his first weekend back after being sidelined for an injury
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “I’m thrilled with our podium finish today. Coming into the weekend I had just been hopeful for a top 10 after returning back from an injury so quickly. It was definitely unexpected but a testament to how hard the team has worked to make this package suitable for me. As always, thanks to everyone supporting myself and the team. I’m now even more excited to head to one of the best tracks on the calendar for me, The Ridge.”
KAYLA YAAKOV
No. 19 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 8th
FINISHED: 8th
CHAMPIONSHIP: 10th (53 pts)
NOTES: Climbed through the field throughout the race, making another notable pass on S. Mesa // Scored her second top-10 finish of the weekend after finishing sixth in Race 1
WHAT SHE’S SAYING: “Our last day here at Brainerd was still very positive. It’s been the best weekend we’ve had with the team and with this bike, and the best weekend I’ve had in the Supersport class so far. Being within the top 10 for every session this weekend has been a huge goal and is a big accomplishment for me. I’m really happy with how hard our team worked with these bikes. We struggled a bit with Race 2 today, but we should have a better run at The Ridge. I’m excited to go back to where I got my first official MotoAmerica win!”
BEN SPIES
TEAM PRINCIPAL
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “It was a great race for the team. All three riders did a great job today, and all weekend. PJ had a better race than yesterday – but we still didn’t have enough pace to catch [Mathew] Scholtz, but we definitely closed the gap. Corey had a really great race and a phenomenal last lap. He had a big pass with two corners to go, and it was great to have him put up results in his first weekend back. Kayla’s performance today was great, and hopefully builds more confidence in her abilities heading into Ridge. Having two riders on the podium today with Graham attending his first race was huge for us, and another great morale boost for the team.”
Having waited until the last moment to lead Race 1 Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) was out to assert himself in Race 2. At Turn 11 on lap 1 he was already out in front of the Supersport field and opening a gap to the rest
Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) was his nearest competitor and pouched when Huertas ran wide at Turn 10 on lap 8. Montella’s lead was short-lived with his rival moving back to the front one lap prior to a red flag bringing proceedings to a close
The red flag was deployed two laps before the scheduled 18 lap distance was due to be completed following a crash for Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) at the fast Turn 11
Yari Montella (55) leads Jorge Navarro (9), Valentin Debise (53), and Stefano Manzi (62) during Race Two. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team), Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) and Jorge Narvarro (Orelac Racing Verdnatura) had a hard fought race for the final place on the podium with Debise coming out on top having held the advantage when the red flag was shown
Simone Corsi (Renzi Corse) was the leading Supersport Cup rider in 11th position
P1 | Adrian Huertas | Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team
“Our pace at the start of the race was incredible. I tried to open a gap and I opened a big lead. At that point the race should be easy but then I had a problem with my helmet. I solved this but it was quite difficult to do while riding. I recovered a lot of time to Yari and I took the lead again before the red flag. This has been an incredible weekend. I led almost all the sessions and I think this shows the work we are doing as a team.”
Rocco Landers won MotoAmerica BellissiMoto Twins Cup Race Two Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Landers led early, dropped back to second, and then made a decisive move on the final lap to win the 11-lap race on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki GSX-8R. It was Landers’ third straight race win.
Alessandro Di Mario, age 15, came back from an early-race incident that dropped him back to fifth to lead the middle part of the race, but he was passed by Landers on the final lap and demoted to second place on his Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660.
Rossi Moor fought for the lead to the end of the race, but the best he could do was a close third place and his second podium finish in as many days on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-8R.
Di Mario’s teammate Gus Rodio rode a lonely race to fourth, and Dominic Doyle rounded out the top five finishers on his Giaccmoto Yamaha YZF-R7.
Jayson Uribe won MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Race Two Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Riding his OrangeCat Racing BMW M 1000 RR on Dunlop control tires, Uribe used a last-lap pass on Ashton Yates to take the victory – the first MotoAmerica victory of his career.
Yates led from the second lap but said he ran out of grip toward the end of the race and had to settle for second place on his Jones Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP.
Benjamin Smith was with Uribe and Yates the whole way but crossed the finish line third, 0.368 second behind Yates, on his FLO4LAW Racing Yamaha YZF-R1.
Bryce Prince was also in the fight for first place but ended up fourth on his BPR Racing Yamaha.
Danilo Lewis rounded out the top five finishers on his Team Brazil BMW.
Race One winner Hayden Gillim was leading the race and pulling away on lap two when he crashed his Real Steel Motorsports Honda at high speed entering Turn Four. Gillim did not appear to be injured in the crash, but he could not continue.
2021 Canadian Superbike Champion Alex Dumas (29) testing om a Ducati Panigale V4 in June 2024. Photo by Colin Fraser, courtesy CSBK.
Alex Dumas returning to CSBK aboard Economy Lube Ducati
Hamilton, ON – The 2024 Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship will feature an exciting new addition when it returns to action in Edmonton, as former champion Alex Dumas is slated to make his return to the series at RAD Torque Raceway, June 21-23.
Dumas will be joining forces with Economy Lube Ducati to headline a brand-new project beginning in round three, having completed a private test at Shannonville on Friday.
The 22-year-old became the youngest GP Bikes Pro Superbike champion ever when he captured the title in his rookie season in 2021, finishing as the national runner-up in each of the last two seasons to rival Ben Young.
Dumas elected not to participate in the full campaign as he prepared for the 101st Loudon Classic in New Hampshire, where he recently finished 13th, but his absence will not last more than two rounds as he now heads west to Edmonton.
The Quebec City native will now make his return official aboard a Ducati V4 Panigale, joining an Economy Lube stable that was previously headlined by Trevor Dion and has offered title support to riders such as Elliot Vieira, Mavrick Cyr, and Dylan Bauer.
A two-time MotoAmerica champion in the junior categories, Dumas has been historically successful since returning north of the border, winning 12 times and scoring 24 podiums in just 26 career Superbike races, crashing out of the lead in his only two podium absences.
His win rate (46.2%) trails only Jordan Szoke (50.6% with 78 wins in 154 races) for the best all-time in CSBK history, and his most recent victory in the 2023 finale moved him into a tie with Don Munroe for the fifth-most in the Superbike class.
Dumas’ return will play a pivotal role in the championship battle, where three-time champion and rival Young currently leads BMW-mate Sam Guerin by eleven points entering Edmonton, the third of six scheduled rounds.
More information can be found on the series’ official website at CSBK.ca.
Bonovo action is withdrawing from the WorldSBK at the end of the 2024 season
The German team’s four-year adventure in the Superbike World Championship will end at the end of the year.
In 2020, the Bonovo action Team, which was already active in Sidecar racing, joined forces with MGM Racing Performance and immediately achieved resounding success in the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM). Jonas Folger, who dominated every race of the season without exception and celebrated the IDM Superbike title early on in his return to active racing, caused much cheering among the team around Bonovo action Team Owner Jürgen Röder and Team Manager Michael Galinski.
The success story continued with a permanent entry into the Superbike World Championship and a new partnership with BMW Motorrad Motorsport in 2021. Although Folger had a difficult debut year in the WSBK, the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team continued to develop and started their second WorldSBK year with Eugene Laverty and Loris Baz in the highest class of production racing motorcycles. While Laverty ended his long and successful active career after the 2022 finale and took on a leading role in the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team, Baz continued his upward trend together with Bonovo action BMW Racing.
In 2023, Texan Garrett Gerloff started alongside the Frenchman. Both talents pushed themselves to surprising heights. While Gerloff secured a first pole position for the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team in Magny-Cours, France, and finished fourth in both races, Baz did his best race in Imola, Italy, where he finished ninth in the second race.
Scott Redding replaced Baz this year and experienced a rather difficult start to the 2024 campaign alongside Gerloff, although both riders had already achieved several top 10 results. After four of the 12 planned WorldSBK events this year, team owner Jürgen Röder decided after careful consideration that Bonovo action BMW Racing would end the Superbike World Championship adventure at the end of this year for personal reasons.
Jürgen Röder, Bonovo action BMW Racing Team Owner
“I will be leaving for personal reasons from 2025 and Bonovo action is therefore withdrawing as a factory team from BMW. I would like to personally thank all the fans who have stuck with us so loyally, who have been happy with us but also suffered with us. Thank you very much, because without the enthusiasm of the spectators and fans such a commitment would not be possible. You are carried by the euphoria and enthusiasm and I have enjoyed that in recent years, whether in the IDM or the World Championship. It was a nice feeling to delight other people with our riders and to provide entertainment and happy hours.”
“Then I would like to thank our entire team under our Team Manager Michael Galinski, who have always done an excellent job. We hope that we can make a difference this year too. We are doing everything we can to move forward and we hope that we can still show some signs of life from our side this season. My thanks also goes to BMW. BMW has always been a fair and very reliable partner who has supported us in everything, including this year, when we are getting the same material as our colleagues at SMR, so we are actually equipped accordingly. BMW and especially Marc Bongers deserve my most heartfelt thanks for their support over the years. He has been with us through the highs and lows and has motivated us during the lows and helped us looking forward. I think that cannot be valued highly enough. At the same time, I would like to thank our sponsors for their loyalty and strong support over the last few years.”
“I wish all the teams in the entire WorldSBK paddock all the best for the future, always an accident-free ride, that is the most important thing of all, and of course much success for everyone.”
Levi Badie won MotoAmerica Junior Cup Race Two Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. On board his Karns Performance Kawasaki Ninja 400, the Belgian rider was leading the restarted and postponed race when it was stopped by a red flag for a second time.
BARTCON Racing Matthew Chapin was scored in second place, a finish that allowed the 16-year-old to increase his lead in the Championship point standings.
BPM’s Isaac Woodworth got third and his career-first MotoAmerica podium finish.
The race was stopped on lap five of 10 due to a crash involving Marques Williams. Williams appeared to be knocked unconscious in an impact zone, but he eventually regained consciousness at the scene and walked away.
The original start of Junior Cup Race Two was stopped on the opening lap when three riders got tangled together and crashed in high-speed Turn Two.
Hayden Gillim won MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers Race Two Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Riding his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Road Glide, the defending Champion pulled away to win his second straight race by 6.5 seconds.
After getting his “pocket picked” at the end of Race One, as he said, Tyler O’Hara was happy to bring his S&S Indian Challenger home in second in Race Two.
James Rispoli bounced back from a crash on his Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide during Race One to finish third in Race Two.
O’Hara’s teammate Troy Herfoss, the Championship point leader coming into the race, was running second and making time on Gillim when he crashed in Turn 12. Herfoss was able to pick up his Indian, get back in the race, and salvage seventh.
Herfoss’ Championship rival Kyle Wyman dealt with an apparent mechanical problem on his factory Harley-Davidson from start and circulated slowly to an eventual eighth place.
Bobby Fong won MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike Race Two Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Fong led from start to finish on his Dunlop-shod Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha YZF-R1, leading by as much as 5.2 seconds and eventually winning by 3.8 seconds after 18 laps.
Fong’s two wins in Minnesota propelled him into the Championship point lead after nine of 20 races.
Josh Herrin was the runner-up on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R.
Cameron Petersen battled with Herrin over second for much of the race but faded due to a lack of grip and ended up taking third on his Attack Performance/Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1.
Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz was in the fight for the podium but had to run off the track to avoid Sean Dylan Kelly’s crash on lap five. But Baz was able to salvage fourth place.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch passed JD Beach late in the race to score fifth, matching his season-best finish. Beach took sixth, just 0.860 second behind Paasch on Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW.
Petersen’s teammate Jake Gagne, the three-time and defending Champion, once again struggled with arm pump but managed to take seventh.
Australian Superbike Champion Troy Herfoss, who is filling in for injured Cameron Beaubier, brought his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR home in eighth.
Ashton Yates got ninth on his Stock 1000-spec Jones Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, and Ezra Beaubier rounded out the top 10 finishers on his Aftercare/Scheibe Racing BMW.
Fong Sweeps To Doubleheader Domination At Brainerd International Raceway
Bobby Fong Sweeps The Weekend And Leads The Superbike Championship
Bobby Fong (50) got the jump on the field at the start of the Steel Commander Superbike race at Brainerd International Raceway on Sunday and was never headed. Cameron Petersen (45) and the rest of the pack give chase. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
BRAINERD, MN (June 16, 2024) – Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong barely won Saturday’s slugfest with Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin after a race-long battle. An hour or so after the race, Fong said he’d try to do things differently on Sunday. He’d said he would try and pull away at the front and not partake in any battles.
Turns out Fong was good to his word.
Fong did what he said he’d do and led from start to finish in Sunday’s Steel Commander Superbike race, leading every single lap and crossing the finish line with a margin of 3.8 seconds over Herrin, who was second for the second straight day.
And guess what? The name atop the Steel Commander Superbike Championship point standings belongs to one Bobby Fong. That’s right. Bobby Fong.
Fong leads three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne, who finished seventh on Sunday as he continues to be plagued by arm pump, by eight points after his two Brainerd wins. Fong has scored points in all nine Superbike races held thus far in 2024 and he’ll take that points lead to Ridge Motorsports Park in Washington for round five, June 28-30.
Herrin was solid again on Sunday, though he couldn’t keep pace with Fong. Instead, he hunted down Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen and passed the South African to finish second.
Petersen, who was fifth on Saturday, tried to hang on to Herrin, but ultimately settled for third place – for his fifth podium finish of the year.
Fourth place went to Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz. The Frenchman was in the battle for second with Herrin, Petersen and EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly when Kelly had a vicious highside that ended up forcing Baz off track and onto the grass. Although he tried to fight back, he couldn’t make headway into the gap to Petersen.
Fortunately, Baz was well clear of Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch and finished fourth with Paasch some six seconds behind in fifth. Baz and Paasch were third and sixth, respectively, on Saturday.
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s JD Beach improved from seventh on Saturday to finish sixth on Sunday.
Gagne, meanwhile, was a frustrated and lonely seventh with Australian Troy Herfoss eighth in his fill-in ride for the injured Cameron Beaubier on the Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR.
Jones Honda’s Ashton Yates and Aftercare Scheibe Racing’s Ezra Beaubier rounded out the top 10.
Fong leads Gagne in the series points, 138-130, with Herrin third on 119 points and just nine clear of Petersen’s 110. Baz sits fifth in the standings with 101 points.
Superbike Race 2
Bobby Fong (Yamaha)
Josh Herrin (Ducati)
Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
Loris Baz (Ducati)
Brandon Paasch (Suzuki)
JD Beach (BMW)
Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
Troy Herfoss (BMW)
Ashton Yates (Honda)
Ezra Beaubier (BMW)
Quotes
Bobby Fong – Winner
“It sounds good, but we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves,” Fong said when told he was leading the championship. “We’re only four rounds into this thing. We’ve got a lot of races left. Honestly, first thing is I want to wish my dad Happy Father’s Day. He doesn’t go to many rounds, but I want to wish him Happy Father’s Day. We’re on a good streak right now. We’re going to just play it safe and just maximize points each weekend. I would have never thought I would even be in this position last year or even leading up to the season. The goal is just to get on some podiums and see what we can do. But now we’re in this thing, and we’ve just got to be smart. We’re not going to get ahead of ourselves. Going into this race, we made some changes this morning and I told my data guy, ‘Nick, we need to smooth this bike out.’ On the warmup lap out there, I’m like, ‘I think we smoothed it out too much.’ We took a lot of torque away. At first when I had some grip, I’m like, ‘this thing is slow,’ but once the tire started going away it played in my favor for sure. You just kind of roll it around like a 600. It was slippery out there. So, what we did with the electronics definitely helped out there. Kudos to the team. Congrats to these guys. They’re keeping me honest. I always go good here, and the Ridge is a different story. We’re just going to keep going and try to keep this lead.”
Josh Herrin – Second Place
“No matter what, we’re always trying to win. We can’t leave here and be super happy with a second, but I’m content with it. After the way that the beginning of the season went, it’s good. We’ve been just trying to chip away. It’s been not going our way. The rain, for some reason I’m struggling with this year, so we lost a lot of points in the two rain races and lost a lot of points in race one at Atlanta. I’ve just had to try to claw my way back. It seems like now we’re getting there. I think we’re probably 18 points behind Bobby (Fong) now, and I don’t know how many behind (Jake) Gagne, or if we’re in second or not. I don’t think so. But I’m happy with the way that the championship is shaping up. I’ve been around here 19 years now and been lucky enough to win three championships and know that it’s not about the first half of the season. Things can go wrong the first half of the season. Just got to keep chipping away and never give up. My team is just full of that energy. We’ve got a good crew. Three years on the same team is a blessing for me. To be on the podium on Father’s Day, my kid’s not here right now but it’s just a good feeling. Thirty-four years old, I’m a dad and fighting for Superbike wins – not today but yesterday. I’m happy with this one and looking forward to the next couple rounds that we got coming up.”
Third Place – Cameron Petersen
“I’m position-wise quite a bit better, but in terms of race pace and the way I rode, I feel like I rode worse than I did yesterday. Obviously, yesterday just got caught up with those lappers in the last few laps. It was a tough race. I tried to go with Bob (Fong) in the beginning and his pace was pretty hot and I was just pretty sloppy, making a lot of mistakes, running wide, and really struggling with rear grip pretty much from lap one. But stoked to be on the podium. Good points haul. Just got to be consistent and be in this thing at the end. Seriously congrats to Bob this weekend. The guy was untouchable. Congrats to Josh (Herrin). I tried to keep him honest for the second half of the race there, but he just kind of slowly broke me and that was it.”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati:
Another Double Podium for Josh Herrin and The Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Team
Sunnyvale, Calif., June 16, 2024 — The fourth round of the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Championship at Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota proved another strong race meeting for the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati team with riders Josh Herrin and Loris Baz collecting podium finishes.
Josh Herrin showed his class by sealing second place in race one behind winner Bobby Fong, fending off teammate Baz by 0.2 seconds. This marks the first time in the 2024 season that Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R riders have shared the podium.
Race two saw Herrin fight past Cameron Petersen and move into second place, eventually stretching a 2.5-second gap and sealing another podium in second place. However, for Baz, he would be in the wrong place at the wrong time as, while battling for the podium, Sean Dylan Kelly had a big highside crash in front of Baz at turn three, causing him to run off the track and lose touch with the podium battle, eventually coming home in fourth place.
Regardless, the weekend was a success. It marked four races in a row in which either Baz or Herrin (or both) has been on the podium, indicating they have the speed and consistency needed to fight for the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Championship title.
2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship After Round Four
P1 – Bobby Fong 138
P2 – Jake Gagne 130
P3 – Josh Herrin (Ducati) 119
P4 – Cameron Petersen 110
P5 – Loris Baz (Ducati) 101
Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#2)
“It was a super positive weekend here at Brainerd,” Herrin said. “It was a great result to get two podiums. The team has been plugging away—the momentum is clearly with us now after this weekend and getting the win at Road America last time out. That’s three podiums in a row, which is a great boost to me and the team.”
“Now we head off to The Ridge in Washington. It was one of our best races last year, and then onto Laguna Seca, so we’ve got a couple of fun race weekends coming up. I’m really happy with how my Ducati Panigale V4 R is working right now and ready to keep the ball rolling.”
Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#76)
“Coming from a podium yesterday, the ambition was high,” Baz said after race two. “We always want to be in the front and take the next step. We tried a few things in the morning warm-up session, which didn’t work as planned, which led us to go back to yesterday’s set-up. I was also a bit more aggressive at the beginning of the race today.”
“I was on the limit a bit with the front-end when Josh (Herrin) came by, so I just took my time a little and tried to follow, but then Sean Dylan Kelly had a massive crash right in front of me. I’m glad he is OK, it was a big one, but I had to run off the track and I lost a lot of time. It took me over a lap to get back to my rhythm with my tires being dirty. I tried to be with Cameron Petersen, but in the end, I settled for fourth. It was a not-so-bad ending; we leave with some good points and another podium heading into The Ridge.”
The fifth round of the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship sees the series head to the Pacific Northwest at The Ridge in Washington over the June 28-30 weekend.
Skinner scores for Scotland with debut race win as Iddon makes it a ‘Super Seven’
Rory Skinner gave the Scottish home crowd something to celebrate by claiming his first Bennetts British Superbike Championship race win in race two at Knockhill, before Christian Iddon fought back with a victory in race three to become the seventh different race winner in 2024.
The weekend produced three different race winners from three different teams and manufacturers as the battle for the 204 title continues to intensify.
The wet conditions rolled in for Sunday’s raceday, but Skinner was unfazed and delivered his first win in the class for the Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad team, taking the chequered flag by 4.895s ahead of an intense battle for the top three with Iddon and race one winner Tommy Bridewell separated by just 0.014s at the chequered flag.
Skinner captured the lead from Bridewell at the Hairpin and then he continued to try to break his rivals but behind the reigning champion, Iddon and Kent were pushing for the podium.
Skinner had started to edge out and advantage but Kent was the fastest rider on circuit and he soon moved ahead of Bridewell as the pair became embroiled in the fight for third. The McAMS Racing Yamaha rider was then closing on Iddon, but he crashed at the Hairpin.
It gave Skinner the edge he needed over the final four laps, to take his first ever Bennetts British Superbike Championship race win, but behind Iddon had a shifting issue over the final laps which caused him to run wide at the Hairpin multiple times. Bridewell had closed on the run to the finish but the Oxford Products Racing Ducati rider held him off by just 0.014s.
Storm Stacey scored his best result with the Team LKQ Euro Car Parts Kawasaki in fourth place with Charlie Nesbitt and Fraser Rogers embroiled in a race-long battle, finishing in fifth and sixth respectively, taking their best results of the season so far.
In race three though, Iddon was ready to push for the first win of the season with Oxford Products Racing Ducati, and he was able to become the seventh different race winner in a red flagged final encounter.
Kent had initially grabbed the lead into turn one, but Skinner was on the attack and he moved ahead for the Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad team with a pass at turn three.
Iddon was holding third position on the opening lap but by lap two, he had moved into the lead with a decisive pass at the Hairpin on Skinner as Kent dropped to fifth.
Bridewell continued to show his pace as he was also moving up the order and he was into second place by lap four with his sight set on Iddon ahead of him.
The order at the front shuffled several times with Billy McConnell also in the mix for the C&L Fairburn Properties/Look Forward Racing Honda team, as the Australian climbed to third behind Iddon and Bridewell by lap six.
Iddon held the lead despite the pressure from the reigning champion and he would hold off the challenge until the race was red flagged when Leon Haslam had a heavy crash on lap 22. The ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team rider was left battered and bruised following the incident.
Skinner and Kent had been duelling for the final podium position; Kent took his opportunity at turn three on lap 20 and he was able to hold off the home hero to return to the podium for McAMS Racing Yamaha and make amends for his crash in today’s second race.
Skinner sealed a strong comeback weekend with a fourth place finish, his best weekend in his Bennetts BSB career, whilst McConnell scored the C&L Fairburn Properties/Look Forward Racing Honda team their best ever result in fifth place.
Hager PBM Ducati’s Glenn Irwin relinquished his lead in the standings to Bridewell ahead of the fifth round at Snetterton; he had fought his way through to eighth place in race two after starting from the back of the grid in 27th before ending the weekend with a ninth place.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Knockhill, Race 2 result:
Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad)
Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +4.895
Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) +4.909
Storm Stacey (LKQ Euro Car Parts Kawasaki +14.577
Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda) +15.436
Fraser Rogers (Tag Honda) +16.883
Billy McConnell (C&L Fairburn / Look Forward Racing) +17.883
Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) +22.655
Lee Jackson (MasterMac Honda) +23.931
Max Cook (Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki) +28.925
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Knockhill, Race 3 result:
Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati)
Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) +0.635s
Danny Kent (McAMS Racing Yamaha) +1.728s
Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad) +1 lap
Billy McConnell (C&L Fairburn Properties/Look Forward Racing Honda) +1 lap
Fraser Rogers (TAG Honda) +1 lap
Danny Buchan (DAO Racing Kawasaki) +1 lap
Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda) +1 lap
Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) +1 lap
Lee Jackson (MasterMac Honda) +1 lap
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:
Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) 141
Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) 130
Danny Kent (McAMS Racing Yamaha) 125
Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 118
Kyle Ryde (OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing) 110
Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team) 88
Jason O’Halloran (Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki) 81
Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda) 72
Ryan Vickers (OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing) 68
Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad) 65
For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Rory Skinner
(Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad)
“At the beginning I knew I needed to get to the front and we had been strong on the BMW in the wet and I thought I could control the pace and know what is fast around here in those conditions. I am very happy that I could get to the front and get a bit of a gap. I did make some mistakes at the start but I built the pace and got into a rhythm and not do anything silly.
“Over the last few laps I kept looking at my pit board and I kept thinking is this right, but I got into a flow state and I was really chilled out! I wasn’t too stressed which was nice as I usually put a lot of pressure on myself here.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but I had been strong in all conditions this weekend and it is nice to finally get one in the bag and now we want to keep the momentum going.”
Christian Iddon
(Oxford Products Racing Ducati)
“I felt absolutely brilliant on the bike at the start of the race as I had so much confidence and feeling in the wet. I was surprised that I was so keen to get by Rory as I know he had a great pace too. I got through and 30 laps here is super long so I tried to get a gap tenth by tenth.
“I tried to maintain the pace and as the track started to dry it became more difficult and I had a few moments. I was really worried as I knew I was losing time from my best lap time on my dash, but I knew from my pit board I still had a bit of a gap.
“I was trying to manage it and then the red flags came out and it caught me of guard but big credit to the team as we had an incredibly hard start to the weekend and we have all worked hard to come away with a second and a first today.”
Mathew Scholtz won MotoAmerica Supersport Race Two Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Riding his Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 on Dunlop spec tires, the South African took the lead on lap three and held it to the finish to win his second straight race and to close within two points of the Championship leader.
PJ Jacobsen is that point leader and the best he could do Sunday was a runner-up finish on his Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL Panigale V2.
Corey Alexander fought hard throughout the race and made a last-lap pass to secure third place on his Roller Die + Forming Ducati Panigale V2.
Tyler Scott bounced back from a big crash in Race One to take a hard-fought fourth place in Race Two on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750.
Scott’s teammate Teagg Hobbs led early in the race, but he got shuffled back to fifth at the end, just 0.366 second behind Alexander.
Scholtz Does The Double In Brainerd International Raceway Supersport
Mathew Scholtz And PJ Jacobsen Only Two Points Apart In Title Chase
Mathew Scholtz (11) leads PJ Jacobsen (15) and Teagg Hobbs (79) in Supersport action at Brainerd International Raceway on Sunday. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
BRAINERD, MN (June 16, 2024) – Rahal Ducati Moto’s PJ Jacobsen and Strack Racing’s Mathew Scholtz seem destined to battle every single race for the 2024 Supersport Championship, and that battle continued at Brainerd International Raceway on Sunday.
Scholtz won on Saturday with Jacobsen second and the South African won again on Sunday, again, with Jacobsen second. With his two victories here, Scholtz now has four wins on the season. The exact same number of wins as Jacobsen has in 2024.
With four rounds and eight races of the championship in the rear-view mirror, the pair are separated by just two measly points with Jacobsen on top, 171-169.
The top-two men in the MotoAmerica Supersport Championship were the top-two men on Saturday at BIR and they were the top-two men on Sunday, with the same result.
Jacobsen, who was racing in front of team owner Graham Rahal for the first time, managed to get to the back of Scholtz in the early laps before the South African gapped him slightly. With a handful of laps remaining, Jacobsen couldn’t do anything but settle for second, 4.4 seconds behind Scholtz at the finish line.
Behind those two was a great battle for third with the two Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzukis of Tyler Scott and Teagg Hobbs vs. Rahal Ducati Moto’s Corey Alexander. That battle went to the bitter end with Alexander making the pass on Scott on the last lap and beating him to the flag by just .023 of a second. It was Alexander’s comeback ride from the hip injury he suffered at Barber Motorsports Park four weeks ago.
Hobbs was right behind them, .343 of a second behind the duo, and fifth across the finish line.
“Yesterday we felt great,” Scholtz said. “Made a couple changes for the practice this morning. We went backwards, and then we went to yesterday’s settings for this race. It was just strange that I was only kind of stuck in the high 33s whereas yesterday I could do 33.3, 33.4 and didn’t feel like I was riding at the absolute limit. Today, if I tried to push more, I was running wide, missing the corners, tucking the front. So, I just have to go back and look at the data and figure out what I was doing differently. Definitely the first couple laps I thought that I would be gapping them, and PJ (Jacobsen) kept me honest. He definitely picked it up. I know that he’s coming. It’s good to see Corey (Alexander) up here, one of the two taller guys. So, that’s cool. Overall, happy to be taking the double. The team have been working really, really well, and just thank you to all the guys that have been supporting me. HJC, 4SR leathers, Alpinestars, the Strack Racing Company, everyone that makes this possible for me. Thank you.”
Jayson Uribe (360), Ashton Yates (27) and Benjamin Smith (78) battle to the finish line in the Stock 1000 race. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Stock 1000 – Uribe Gets His First
When Real Steel Motorsports’ Hayden Gillim crashed his Honda CBR1000RR-R SP on the second lap in Sunday’s Stock 1000 race, the door was open for the rest of the pack to make hay while the sun shone. Gillim had won his third Stock 1000 race of the season on Saturday and not many thought he could be beaten at BIR. But it all went wrong for the defending champion with his crash.
The rider who took the most advantage of Gillim’s miscue was OrangeCat Racing’s Jason Uribe, who won his first Stock 1000 race and his first of any kind in the MotoAmerica Championship.
Jones’ Honda’s Ashton Yates took over at the front after Gillim’s crash and managed to open a bit of a gap over the chasing pack. Uribe and FLO4LAW’ Racing’s Benjamin Smith, however, had their eyes wide open knowing that with Gillim out, this was anybody’s race.
The pair chipped away on and eventually caught up to Yates. On the final lap, Uribe snatched the lead in turn three, protected the inside for the rest of the lap and scored his first-career win in his return to the MotoAmerica paddock.
Yates held on for second, just .144 of a second behind Uribe and .368 ahead of Smith, who finished on the podium for a second-straight race. It was also Yates’ second podium finish of the weekend.
BPR Racing’s Bryce Prince was 1.6 seconds behind Smith and well clear of Team Brazil’s Danilo Lewis, who rounded out the top five.
Rocco Landers (97) beat Alessandro Di Mario (27) for the second straight day in the BellissiMoto Twins Cup race at BIR on Sunday. Rossi Moor (92) finished third. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
BellissiMoto Twins Cup – A Clean Sweep For Landers
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Rocco Landers played a little bump and run with his rival Alessandro Di Mario on the opening lap of the BellissiMoto Twins Cup race on Sunday, knocking Di Mario wide with the Italian-turned Kentuckian losing several places in the process. But he wasn’t done yet.
Rodio Racing – Powered By Robem Engineering’s Di Mario caught back up to Landers, breaking the Twins Cup lap record in the process. Di Mario latched on to make it a battle to the finish with the Di Mario/Landers duo going back and forth. Their battle at the front allowed Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Rossi Moor to get back in touch with the lead trio for the final laps with the 16-year-old latching on to the end.
At the flag it was Landers by .585 of a second with Di Mario just .324 of a second behind in third. The podium was identical to Saturday’s race, but the pace on Sunday was much faster.
Di Mario’s teammate Gus Rodio was some 15 seconds adrift in fourth, but well ahead of Giaccmoto Yamaha Racing’s Dominic Doyle.
“I kind of got it a little bit deep and if I had snatched the brakes I would have gone down,” Landers said of his contact with Di Mario. “I assumed he might see me and kind of get out of the way at that point, but the kid is a fighter. Made me work for that one way harder than any race this season so far. But it’s cool to race these guys. They’re always super-fast. Rossi and I kind of got to get our elbows out there a little bit, especially Rossi, though he’s a little bit down on power. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find some things for COTA. Got to give a huge shout out to my uncle Ken. He’s in the hospital right now. He was watching the race. My thoughts go out to him currently. But it was a good race for me. I had a lot of fun.”
Hayden Gillim (1) dominated the Mission King Of The Baggers race on Sunday, beating Tyler O’Hara (28) for a doubleheader sweep at BIR. Troy Herfoss (17) crashed and remounted to finish seventh. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Mission King Of The Baggers – Gillim Again
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines’ Hayden Gillim crashed out of the lead in Stock 1000 on Sunday in a race he was heavily favored to win. He didn’t let that happen in the second of two Mission King Of The Baggers races as he backed up Saturday’s win with another victory on Sunday and a points haul of 50 over the course of the weekend.
The race was one of attrition with the two men at the top of the points table also suffering miserable races and finishing last and second-to-last (seventh and eighth). Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman was the first to have an issue as his bike faltered at the start and Wyman basically was forced to cruise around for the duration to get some championship points. He earned eight points.
S&S/Indian Motorcycles’ Troy Herfoss was looking like he would bring home a boatload of points in comparison to his championship rival, but he crashed out of second place, remounted and finished seventh.
Herfoss’s teammate Tyler O’Hara cruised to a second-place finish, 6.5 seconds behind Gillim and some 10 seconds clear of third-placed James Rispoli on the second Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide.
Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson teammates Jake Lewis and Cory West rounded out the top-five finishers.
“I was a little nervous after crashing in the Stock race earlier,” Gillim said. “I didn’t want to repeat that. But, no, I was pushing as much as I felt comfortable. I knew if I could get into the corners pretty good and get out of them pretty good, it would be hard to pass. Everybody stepped it up from yesterday. If you could look at this morning, I was third and I wasn’t happy about it. I didn’t go any faster, but everybody else did. It’s an awesome weekend after Road America. Road America was a rough one. The whole start of the season has been really, really rough. Wearing the number-one plate I thought would be a little bit easier going into the season than what it has been. I’m just really happy for myself, for the team. Just looking forward to getting to Laguna on these. Last year we had really good pace there. Me and James (Rispoli) were rolling really good on the Vance & Hines bikes. Laguna is going to be a tight one. Everybody goes fast there, so it’s going to be a lot of fun. Just keep it on two wheels right now. I’m beat up right now a little bit – knees, elbows, everything. I’m just wanting to stay on two wheels right now.”
Levi Badie (71) bested Matthew Chapin (95) to win his first Junior Cup race of the season. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Junior Cup – Badie Gets It Done
The Junior Cup race was red flagged and moved to the end of the day after three riders crashed together in the ultra-fast turn one and moved to the end of the day. After a few hours of downtime, the race was restarted and ultimately red-flagged and called with Karns Performance’s Levi Badie taking the win, his first of the year and the third of his Junior Cup career. Badie was the fourth different winner in Junior Cup in 2024.
BARTCON Racing’s Matthew Chapin was second, half a second behind Badie with another half a second back to first-time podium finisher Isaac Woodworth and his BPM Kawasaki Ninja 400.
Bad Boy Racing’s siblings Avery and Ella Dreher were fourth and fifth, respectively, and on the same second as Badie.
“Started off pretty good,” Badie said. “It was a really big battle. I enjoyed the race a lot. Just trying to get my way up to the front. It’s hard sometimes. There were some few different limited passing spots, so it’s always like you want to do it fair. You don’t want to push people off the track and stuff. So, I pushed my way back to the front. When I got up front, I was like, ‘put the pin down and just try to go. See what every lap gives.’ You saw Isaac (Woodworth) pass me on the straightaway up to the last lap. Trying to just have a good battle and have fun. It’s sad to see that somebody crashed. It’s always sad. But I’m very happy. Thank you to everyone. I’m very grateful.”
More, from a press release issued by Rahal Ducati Moto:
BRAINERD RACE 2
SUNDAY, JUNE 16, 2024 | WARM UP & RACE 2
The overcast skies at Brainered International Raceway welcomed Race 2 of Supersport competition at the 13-turn course. It was another stellar race with the Rahal Ducati Moto riders showcasing their racecraft and skill collection another set of top-10 finishes.
The team heads west for Rounds 9 and 10 of championship competition, to Ridge Motorsports Park June 27 – 30. Keep up to speed with all things Rahal Ducati Moto by following along on our social media channels (@rahalducatimoto).
PJ JACOBSEN
No. 15 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 5th
FINISHED: 2nd
CHAMPIONSHIP: 1st (171 pts)
NOTES: Continues to lead the championship by two points leaving the weekend // Scored another podium finish, marking his eighth podium in as many races this season
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “It was quite a difficult race. I was trying to stay behind [Mathew] Scholtz the whole time, but there was a bit of a dropoff for me because I was trying to get the most of of the tire. Even standing the bike up, I couldn’t really get towards him because he was doing similar lap times. I knew today would be difficult, but we made some great changes overnight. Going forward to Ridge, I think I can be quite strong on our current bike. Our bike is great in the breaking zone, we just need to figure out the acceleration out of the corner in third and fourth gears, not sliding so much. Once you’re on the 600 and you start sliding off the corner, it can kill your lap time, more than a Superbike would where you can make it up. Scholtz rode great this weekend so I’m happy for him and his team. My teammate Corey, for him to be on the podium after his injury and Graham to be here between his INDYCAR races was awesome. The team should be proud, we did a great job. The championship could come down to the last couple of races.”
COREY ALEXANDER
No. 23 ROLLER DIE + FORMING DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 4th
FINISHED: 3rd
CHAMPIONSHIP: 6th (68 pts // +2 positions)
NOTES: Caught behind the Suzuki bikes of T. Hobbs and T. Scott for majority of the race // Made an impressive move on Scott for third place going into Turn 12 of the final lap, crossing the line just .023 ahead to secure the podium // Recorded his second podium finish of the season (first was Road Atlanta Race 2) // Earned two top-four finishes in his first weekend back after being sidelined for an injury
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “I’m thrilled with our podium finish today. Coming into the weekend I had just been hopeful for a top 10 after returning back from an injury so quickly. It was definitely unexpected but a testament to how hard the team has worked to make this package suitable for me. As always, thanks to everyone supporting myself and the team. I’m now even more excited to head to one of the best tracks on the calendar for me, The Ridge.”
KAYLA YAAKOV
No. 19 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 8th
FINISHED: 8th
CHAMPIONSHIP: 10th (53 pts)
NOTES: Climbed through the field throughout the race, making another notable pass on S. Mesa // Scored her second top-10 finish of the weekend after finishing sixth in Race 1
WHAT SHE’S SAYING: “Our last day here at Brainerd was still very positive. It’s been the best weekend we’ve had with the team and with this bike, and the best weekend I’ve had in the Supersport class so far. Being within the top 10 for every session this weekend has been a huge goal and is a big accomplishment for me. I’m really happy with how hard our team worked with these bikes. We struggled a bit with Race 2 today, but we should have a better run at The Ridge. I’m excited to go back to where I got my first official MotoAmerica win!”
BEN SPIES
TEAM PRINCIPAL
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “It was a great race for the team. All three riders did a great job today, and all weekend. PJ had a better race than yesterday – but we still didn’t have enough pace to catch [Mathew] Scholtz, but we definitely closed the gap. Corey had a really great race and a phenomenal last lap. He had a big pass with two corners to go, and it was great to have him put up results in his first weekend back. Kayla’s performance today was great, and hopefully builds more confidence in her abilities heading into Ridge. Having two riders on the podium today with Graham attending his first race was huge for us, and another great morale boost for the team.”
Having waited until the last moment to lead Race 1 Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) was out to assert himself in Race 2. At Turn 11 on lap 1 he was already out in front of the Supersport field and opening a gap to the rest
Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) was his nearest competitor and pouched when Huertas ran wide at Turn 10 on lap 8. Montella’s lead was short-lived with his rival moving back to the front one lap prior to a red flag bringing proceedings to a close
The red flag was deployed two laps before the scheduled 18 lap distance was due to be completed following a crash for Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) at the fast Turn 11
Yari Montella (55) leads Jorge Navarro (9), Valentin Debise (53), and Stefano Manzi (62) during Race Two. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team), Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) and Jorge Narvarro (Orelac Racing Verdnatura) had a hard fought race for the final place on the podium with Debise coming out on top having held the advantage when the red flag was shown
Simone Corsi (Renzi Corse) was the leading Supersport Cup rider in 11th position
P1 | Adrian Huertas | Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team
“Our pace at the start of the race was incredible. I tried to open a gap and I opened a big lead. At that point the race should be easy but then I had a problem with my helmet. I solved this but it was quite difficult to do while riding. I recovered a lot of time to Yari and I took the lead again before the red flag. This has been an incredible weekend. I led almost all the sessions and I think this shows the work we are doing as a team.”
Rocco Landers won MotoAmerica BellissiMoto Twins Cup Race Two Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Landers led early, dropped back to second, and then made a decisive move on the final lap to win the 11-lap race on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki GSX-8R. It was Landers’ third straight race win.
Alessandro Di Mario, age 15, came back from an early-race incident that dropped him back to fifth to lead the middle part of the race, but he was passed by Landers on the final lap and demoted to second place on his Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660.
Rossi Moor fought for the lead to the end of the race, but the best he could do was a close third place and his second podium finish in as many days on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-8R.
Di Mario’s teammate Gus Rodio rode a lonely race to fourth, and Dominic Doyle rounded out the top five finishers on his Giaccmoto Yamaha YZF-R7.
Jayson Uribe won MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Race Two Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Riding his OrangeCat Racing BMW M 1000 RR on Dunlop control tires, Uribe used a last-lap pass on Ashton Yates to take the victory – the first MotoAmerica victory of his career.
Yates led from the second lap but said he ran out of grip toward the end of the race and had to settle for second place on his Jones Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP.
Benjamin Smith was with Uribe and Yates the whole way but crossed the finish line third, 0.368 second behind Yates, on his FLO4LAW Racing Yamaha YZF-R1.
Bryce Prince was also in the fight for first place but ended up fourth on his BPR Racing Yamaha.
Danilo Lewis rounded out the top five finishers on his Team Brazil BMW.
Race One winner Hayden Gillim was leading the race and pulling away on lap two when he crashed his Real Steel Motorsports Honda at high speed entering Turn Four. Gillim did not appear to be injured in the crash, but he could not continue.
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Compliance status
We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience,
regardless of circumstance and ability.
To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level.
These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible
to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.
This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific
disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.
Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML,
adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.
If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email
Screen-reader and keyboard navigation
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with
screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive
a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements,
alongside console screenshots of code examples:
Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website.
In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels;
descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups),
and others. Additionally, the background process scans all the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag
for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology.
To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on
as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside it.
Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Disability profiles supported in our website
Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments
Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over seven different coloring options.
Animations – person with epilepsy can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.
Browser and assistive technology compatibility
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers).
Notes, comments, and feedback
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs. There may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to
